Growing crops, grass, and other plants have long been treated with a variety of active chemical agents to impart to the plants desirable effects, such as enhanced growth characteristics or enhanced resistance to pests or diseases. Examples of such agents include fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, chemical hybridizing agents, auxins, and plant growth regulators. An important active agent that is often used to treat plants is phosphate, since it, among other things, promotes root growth. Sources of phosphate include synthetic sources (e.g., Super Phosphate 0-20-0 from The Espoma Co., Millville, N.J.) and non-synthetic sources, including bone meal or guano from a variety of sources.